Well with school starting again, I am sure we all have our stories. Even before it started we had a few incidents that make you want to make sure that your child knows what to do. Playgrounds. My son was playing outside with his daycare-mates when a school-age boy came around to offer the kids a straw of candy. One of those sugar-filled straws. I believe they are called Pixie Stick. When my son said he could not have that, because he was allergic, the boy insisted it was safe causing my wife to intervene and tell the boy that because we didn’t know what was in it, he could not have it. Even then the boy insisted and now got my son telling my wife “he says it’s safe, mom!”. Instances like this require us, as parents, to stress how important, no matter how sure you may be, it is to refuse food if you don’t know the ingredients and to not allow a child to challenge your views on the subject. That other child also should be educated but that isn’t always possible. Field Trips and Washing Up. A bus full of 50+ kids and a public indoor fun park. Allergy haven I think. The kids enjoyed themselves and there were no instances of any kind. Good trip all-in-all. After playing in the fun park and before having a picnic lunch one of the teachers started distributing dollops of hand sanitizer gel to each of the kids. While she did this she was telling the kids it was to clean their hands and to make sure there were no allergens left on their hands. My wife heard this and was appalled that the teacher was telling this to the kids. After the trip, my wife called the school to inform them that a teacher had been doing this and that they should all know that the gel does not remove allergens and that to properly remove allergens you need to give your hands a good washing under running water or use an anti-septic cloth where the allergens are removed to the cloth. The problem with the gel is that all it does is move the allergens around. Unlike...

Yesterday we wanted to try something new. Order in pizza! Most of you know that ordering in pizza with a nut/peanut allergic person in the house is usually taboo. What made us think of the possibility was a recent trip to New Jersey where we found out, through the Dominos.com site (US company), that they were nut free (http://www.dominos.com/home/menu/allergen_info.jsp). I picked up the phone and called the local establishment. In a rushed voice the gentleman on the phone stated that it was Domino’s and what I would like for my order. I informed him that I have someone with food allergies and that I would like to speak to someone with some knowledge of this with respect to their food preparation. He then asked what the allergen was. I told him peanuts and tree nuts to which he replied that there was nobody there to help me. I bid him good day and hung up. I was not very convinced, nor was I very happy at how that transpired. I picked up my quill and parchment to draft a letter to Dominos Canada. OK, I emailed them. The gist of the email was asking what their policy was, if they were nut/peanut free, and if their employees were educated of the process if there was one. I received an email this morning stating that they were in fact nut and peanut free and that their website was going through the process of adding this information. To get more information I picked up the phone and called the author of the email. She informed me that the employees are supposed to be educated and trained how to handle these allergens and to ensure the public, when told of the allergy, that all precautionary procedures will be followed. It is up to US to make sure they know of our allergies. This will prompt the kitchen to take extra care. This information came to me from the Executive Assistant of the President of Dominos Canada. I think I trust her. So we can add one more pizza place to the list! That makes 2 so far. Boston Pizza Domino’s If you know of more please let us know! Share...